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The beauty of today

A Christian Science perspective: God's care is a present reality.

April 11, 2017

By Laura Clayton

Sometimes when we pray, it’s tempting to think in terms of a timeline for God’s goodness. Our prayer might include gratitude for all the blessings of yesterday – and perhaps a wish or hope for more good to come into our lives tomorrow, for more health, more safety, or security. But the power of prayer really lies in opening our eyes to the power of God’s goodness right at hand – since divine Love, our Father and Mother, is omni-action this very moment.

I caught myself recently praying in a rather limited way, like I was figuratively “standing in line” waiting for God’s blessings. This brought me up short. It made me smile, because I had forgotten that one of the most important aspects of prayerful gratitude is to acknowledge God’s love in the “here and now.” I felt gently rebuked in how I’d been thinking – seeing myself lingering in the past and gazing into the imponderable future. I had overlooked the vital spiritual fact that infinite, divine Love is always at hand – here for me now with tenderness, provision, and protection. I remembered that the Bible reveals this time and again, as when Christ Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 10:7).

When I woke up to this higher sense of prayer, I took some time, right then, to remember that the peace of God and the active power of His goodness in my life – and in everyone’s life – can never be defined or proscribed by a mortal sense of time. One can’t outline the infinite within the finite. This really brought a fresh sense of peace and dissolved much of the worry I had been feeling.

Shortly after this on a walk around my yard, I noticed a flock of goldfinches overhead in the branches, attracted to my bird feeders. How precious they appeared with their delicate, fluttering wings flashing both pale and bright yellow. I felt my heart lift again in praise to God as I recognized that each of these creatures was actually an idea, a spiritual creation, of an all-good and all-loving God. Certainly God had sheltered them all winter and was continuing to provide care. Were they worried? Were they anxious about tomorrow? Of course not. The words of Christ Jesus again came to mind, “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

A friend once shared with me that out of all the days of the week, there are two we should never worry about: yesterday and tomorrow. And while thinking about yesterday or tomorrow with a sense of regret or dread should be avoided, I have come to believe that it’s best to acknowledge that all the good in the past is present today – rather than to say, “Today is not so hot, but surely tomorrow will be brighter.”

The gems of the past will shine brighter and the blessings of tomorrow will blossom more readily in proportion as we learn to accept all that God is doing for us today. His love, grace, support, and peace are ours always because we are the blessed work of His hands, reflecting Him now and forever as His spiritual image and likeness. However, we must actively seek this truth and strive to live in accord with it. I am continuing to learn to shift my thought from fear to understanding, from merely hoping in God to knowing Him better as our ever-present Father-Mother. And to embrace a spiritual awareness that expands into a fuller expression of God’s goodness reflected in our lives each day.

Today is the perfect time to be what we already are – the beloved children of God. It’s a day of discovering beauty within and without – of seeing what God is revealing to our waiting and watching hearts. May we all discover more and more that, in the words of Mary Baker Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science, “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, to-day is big with blessings” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. vii).